Washington at UCLA: Can Anyone Figure Out This Team?

Answer me this: Why would any team with a halfway decent coach not toss a 2-3 zone against UW for the entire game? If you face a team with absolutely zero offensive gameplan to combat a zone (except for passing the ball around the arc and occasionally driving (recklessly) into the lane, isn’t that the smart move? This was one of the worst UCLA teams that I can remember. They have one talented player (freshman Tyler Honeycutt) and a bunch of guys who have no discernable skills. They are not exactly a team full of finishers, shooters, or ball handlers. One of their most effective guys looks like a Bond villain (Reeves Nelson)…

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and they have a strong candidate for the all hate team (Michael Roll).

But seriously, this team is terrible. And UW just lost to them.

UW played good defense, but when a team is as limited as UCLA, what does it really tell you? The lack of creativity on offense is jarring. The inability to get Pondexter the ball down the stretch is appalling. After playing so well against Cal and Stanford, to come out and perform like this on the road in a half empty Pauley Pavilion is discouraging.

I liked that Scott Suggs and Elston Turner took the threes that they were given and knocked them down. That’s encouraging. Pondexter looked as good as he’s ever looked beyond the arc, going 4 for 4 (if he picks up that part of his game, he’ll boost the hell out of his NBA stock). Does this look like a tournament-bound team to you? How could it? They’ve yet to win on the road and they’ve been embarrassed a few times now. Do they bounce back again? I just don’t like what I see.

A few words on MBA… I’m to the point now where I actually feel bad for the guy. He was so abjectly terrible in this game and gave Romar no choice. He had to sit him. He got out-hustled and out-muscled for a rebound on a missed free throw, he a committed stupid lean-on-the-guy foul, he didn’t take a shot, he didn’t grab a rebound, he played no defense, and sweat for four minutes. He really shouldn’t play anymore because the poor guy is completely outmatched. I thought that he might have turned a corner after those two Bay Area wins, complete with what could be his first ever dunk in the half court offense:

That’s a bigtime move for him. He’s shown that he has the ability to do it. So why doesn’t he continually do it? I don’t think we’ll ever know. Like I said, I feel bad for the guy now.

Also, I mentioned that Turner took threes tonight. I mention it because he’s got a very nasty habit of pump-faking on wide open threes and either dribbling into a tough shot that has less of a chance to drop than a 30-foot jumper or dribbling aimlessly and turning the ball over. For example, from the Cal game:

And here’s the reason that he should always take wide-open threes, regardless of whether he’s feeling it or not.

Sigh……………………

What are we supposed to make of this team? I cannot figure them out. I simply can’t.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see if this guy is the real deal…

Here’s a clip about a coach at Findlay Prep (where Avery Bradley went to “school”) where Kanter ended up not attending (he goes to Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley).

I don’t know what he is talking about re “perception.” Does that mean that he is some sort of prima donna? I certainly hope not; maybe he just didn’t fit in with the AAU-style that Findlay Prep is about? Does that bode well for him at UW? I suppose we’ll find out.